I apologize for yet another interruption in this series due to the holidays. With both teams in focus being on “vacation” for the next handful of days, however, I decided this was the perfect time to cover what has transpired with the free time I have this morning.

SKA Saint Petersburg:

Game 37: Saturday, December 21st

SKA 3-2 Admiral Vladivostok (OT)

Game 38: Wednesday, December 25th

SKA 5-6 CSKA Moscow

In some interconference action against Admiral, SKA played a strong possession game but were PDO’ed in a somewhat adverse manner in regulation. The club were nearly goalied by Vladivostok netminder Andrei Mishurov but were able to secure the overtime win via a strong solo sequence in overtime by Buffalo Sabres “property” Vasily Glotov, who stole the puck and subsequently had a dynamite release to gain the dub (as it would turn out, this would be his final goal for SKA – More on that shortly). The game had the potential to be frustrating, but still had some positive narratives even within the frustration, such as Ivan Demidov scoring in a second consecutive game as the Habs prospect continued his improved form. Yegor Zavragin was also “good enough” between the pipes as the future Flyer continued to shake the rust off after a long stretch of downtime (a strong pivot from being used *too frequently* prior to that).

The next game was a different kind of frustration, as SKA were pummeled early and often against their archrivals in the nation’s capital. Zavragin was scored on twice inside the first minute, seemingly ending his night very early in favor of Pavel Moisevich. However, the Vegas Golden Knights draft pick was scored on three times on seven shots against before the first period ended, resulting in Zavragin being put back in by Roman Rotenberg. The visiting club would make a strong comeback effort in one of the Army Derby’s most memorable and exciting matchups (if fundamentally flawed on both ends, as both teams allowed plenty of high grade shots), with Demidov notably scoring again (also tallying an assist), but to no avail. Probably not how they drew up their Christmas plans, but that is how the cookie crumbles sometimes. This was also a one step forward, one step back game for SKA on the roster health front, as they gained back Arseni Gritsyuk after the Devils prospect missed several games with the flu, but also lost Evgeny Kuznetsov in this matchup to a concussion. The ex-Capitals and Hurricanes star would miss their next game.

Off-ice developments:

The latter game (in which he tallied an assist) would be the last that Glotov played in a SKA uniform, as he was traded alongside defenseman Arseni Koromyslov to Traktor Chelyabinsk in exchange for D Ilya Karpukhin and the KHL rights to G Ruslan Khazheyev. Karpukhin provides some stability on the back-end, as he has traditionally been a plus player throughout his career, along with a little bit of offensive productivity. Glotov has somewhat underachieved in his time since returning to SKA from HC Sochi, but he was a useful producer for them on their last two playoff runs with 20 points in 25 games to his name since then. Nevertheless, though, I think they were in the right here. They have enough high-end talent to make up for this and this may allow Demidov more playing time amongst him being Rotenberg’ed. After being a high profile acquisition from Sochi last season but ultimately a disappointing one, Croatian winger Borna Rendulic was also traded by SKA to defending Gagarin Cup champions Metallurg Magnitogorsk in exchange for Kazakh forward Pavel Akolzin. It should be interesting to see what a scenery change does for both players involved in this (I hate to use this term) hockey trade.

HC Sochi:

Game 35: Friday, December 20th

Sochi 1-2 Severstal Cherepovets

Game 36: Sunday, December 22nd

Sochi 1-3 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

Game 37: Tuesday, December 24th

Sochi 4-3 Lada Togliatti

Game 39: Sunday, December 29th

Sochi 1-4 CSKA Moscow

As opposed to SKA’s fairly light work load since the last installment in this series, Sochi’s schedule was fairly condensed. The common threads throughout most of this (save for the game against Lada Togliatti, where they were on the right side of this dynamic) were losing close games and/or being put out of competition early. This tracks with the tendencies and consistent woes that have been established throughout the season for them, as they have a terrible track record in the first period of games (having a goal differential worse than -20) and have had a tough time hanging in competitive matchups. A positive amongst all of this is that William Bitten has been terrific since they claimed him off of waivers from Spartak Moscow (a transaction I did not write about as I wrote it off as most likely inconsequential, which was a mistake on my part). The former St. Louis Blue/one-time Canadiens draft pick (who also spent time in the Wild organization) has scored a goal in all three games he has played for Sochi to this point (including opening the scoring for the “Leopards” in their victory against Lada) after scoring just one tally throughout his season with Spartak and is a +4. Truly, an impressive pickup considering how low event it appeared on its face when it occurred.

Off-ice developments:
It was announced on the team’s Instagram page that Timur Khafizov was signed to a two-year contract extension, which will keep him in the org until 2027. He had an underwhelming first campaign with them, but his form has improved considerably this year, with a much higher PPG and vastly superior +/-. If this is indicative of who he will be in the coming couple of seasons, this could be a great value contract.

Gazprom Cup III: Friday, December 27th

SKA 5-4 Sochi

The home club looked as though they might give their fans a treat against their sister team. The “Leopards” faced a considerable amount of strife from their opponents in the first period but had an answer for all of it and were up 3-2 going into the final stanza, and grew that lead to 4-2 within it. However, SKA had an explosive final eight minutes of regulation, scoring three goals to take the regulation win. The dagger was a true heartbreaker, as Gritsyuk scored with just under two minutes remaining. This had the makings of a potential impressive win for Sochi, but it ultimately did not fall their way. With the season past the halfway point, I think we most likely just have to accept that this is who they are.

Standings update:
SKA: 4th in Western Conference, 2nd in Bobrov Division

Sochi: 11th in Western Conference, 5th (last) in Bobrov Division

Next games:
SKA: vs. CSKA Moscow – Friday, January 3rd: 9:00 AM
Sochi: vs. Dynamo Moscow – Sunday, January 5th: 9:00 AM